The clinical characteristics, treatment, and rehabilitation of repatriated prisoners of war with neurosis.

At the end of May, 1945, we were seconded from Mill Hill Emergency Hospital to start a neurosis centre for repatriated prisoners of war at Dartford, Kent. During the following eight months 811 repatriates from the North-west Europe sector passed through the unit. This paper describes the clinical characteristics of these men, their treatment and rehabilitation, and the results of a short-term follow-up on a sample of them. The patients were referred to us by the psychiatrists of the 45th Division, who handled the psychiatric problems of the 100,000 British repatriates from Europe. They were men who had shown signs of psychological maladjustment on repatriation, during the repatriation leave, or on returning to their unit after the leave. Mild cases were dealt with on the spot, so that the material sent to us constituted the most maladjusted 1 per cent. of the entire prisoner-of-war group. There were no officers sent to our unit. The subject is discussed under four headings: clinical characteristics, treatment, follow-up, and general discussion.